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Taavet Hinrikus

Showing 1–3 of 3 transcripts.

  1. Goldman Sachs25 min

    Wise Founder Taavet Hinrikus on Europe’s Tech Renaissance

    Taavet Hinrikus, Clif Marriott

    Tavit Tammemäe catalyzed Estonia's transformation into a European tech powerhouse by co-founding Skype, which triggered a wave of successful exits, and later launching the fintech unicorn Wise. Transitioning from operator to investor, he founded Plural in 2021 alongside four other former European CEOs to deploy €500 million in Fund II toward complex, high-impact sectors like defense and healthcare AI. The firm targets "obsessed" founders capable of building $100 billion companies, aiming to replicate the scalability of Skype and Wise within the European market.

  2. 20VC with Harry Stebbings1h 3m

    Plural Partner, Taavet Hinrikus: Why Founders Will Realise Multi-Stage Funds Damage Seed Rounds

    Taavet Hinrikus, Harry Stebbings

    Venture capitalist Tal Talbot outlines Plural's strategic shift toward a low-fee, high-volume model that aligns incentives by charging half the industry standard management fee and requiring partners to personally back every investment. The firm targets deep hard-tech sectors like defense, fusion, and AI, explicitly rejecting saturated enterprise software markets to pursue 100x returns while advocating for European geopolitical sovereignty through government purchasing and unified capital mobilization. With Fund II expanding its reserve ratio to 50% and targeting companies such as Helsing and Proxima Fusion, Plural aims to rebuild Europe's critical industries amid a tri-polar global landscape where traditional VC metrics are declining.

  3. a16z28 min

    a16z Podcast | When Banking Works Like My Smartphone

    Taavet Hinrikus, Angela Strange, Michael Copeland

    TransferWise, a London-headquartered fintech disrupting the global money transfer sector with 5% UK market share, leverages its low-fee model and engineering operations in Estonia to capture users dissatisfied with traditional banking's hidden costs. CEO Tavit Soto predicts that specialized tech firms will command 30–40% of the global banking market within a decade, driven by consumer trust deficits and a preference for transparent services over legacy institutions. While expanding into Canada and targeting emerging markets like China and India, the company relies on viral social proof and strategic bank partnerships to accelerate adoption among diverse age groups.